After meeting yesterday with Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced today: “With the support of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, it was possible to create conditions for the resumption of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.... [I]t was agreed in Istanbul that Moscow and Kyiv would prepare documents outlining the position of each side in order to achieve a sustainable settlement. The Russian side, as agreed, promptly developed a corresponding memorandum, which sets out our position on all aspects of reliably overcoming the root causes of the crisis. Our delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, is ready to present this memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and to provide the necessary clarifications during the second round of resumed direct negotiations in Istanbul next Monday, June 2.
“I would like to once again express my gratitude to our Turkish partners for providing us with a hospitable Turkish platform, as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed yesterday during his visit to Moscow. We hope that all those who are sincerely, and not just in words, interested in the success of the peace process will support the holding of a new round of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul.”
Lavrov held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 28 in which he informed him, according to the Kremlin readout, “on the preparation of specific proposals for the next round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul by Moscow.… In turn, Rubio underscored Trump’s aim of bringing the Ukrainian conflict to a rapid conclusion and expressed Washington’s readiness to facilitate the rapprochement of the parties’ positions,” the Foreign Ministry statement pointed out.
